Predicting Worksheet

Making predictions is one of the most useful reading strategies a child can learn, and this predicting worksheet gives third graders focused practice with it. When readers predict, they combine the clues an author gives them with what they already know in order to decide what will probably happen next. That habit keeps children thinking ahead, checking their guesses against the text, and staying connected to a story from the first sentence to the last. This predicting worksheet builds the habit with short, everyday stories that leave just enough evidence for a confident, defensible prediction.

The worksheet is split into two parts so students move from recognizing a good prediction to writing one of their own. In Part A, students read four short stories and fill in the bubble beside the best prediction out of three choices. In Part B, students read two more stories, write their own prediction in a complete sentence, and then write the clue from the story that helped them decide. Naming the clue is the step that turns a guess into real evidence-based thinking. Use this 3rd grade predictions worksheet for independent practice, as a guided reading follow-up, in a literacy center, or as a quick check before students tackle a longer passage. A complete answer key is included, so checking work takes seconds.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• 4 multiple-choice prediction stories with fill-in-the-bubble answers
• 2 write-your-own prediction stories with a clue line for text evidence
• 1 answer key with sample answers
• 3rd Grade reading practice focused on predicting outcomes

How This Helps Kids Learn

First, it makes thinking visible. Asking students to write the clue that led to their prediction forces them to point at the text instead of guessing, which is the same skill they will use later for inference and drawing conclusions. Second, it lowers the reading load so the strategy stays front and center. Each story is only two sentences long, so a third grader spends the effort on reasoning rather than decoding. Third, it builds confidence through a gentle progression. Students warm up by choosing among three predictions, then step up to writing their own, and the answer key shows them what a strong, complete answer sounds like.

Ideas for Teachers and Parents

Pause during a read-aloud at a cliffhanger and have students turn and talk about what they think will happen next and why. Cover the final panel of a comic or the last page of a picture book and let children write their own ending, then compare it with the author’s. Play a “clue hunt” where students highlight the words in a paragraph that hint at what is coming. At home, predict together during everyday moments: what will happen when the cookies come out of the oven, or when storm clouds roll in? Keep asking the follow-up question that matters most – what made you think so?

Related Resources

• Making Predictions Worksheet
• Making Predictions Graphic Organizer Worksheet
• Cookie Catastrophe Predictions Worksheet
• Context Clues Song by Have Fun Teaching